Home

Welcome to Birdsedge or Birds Edge, West Yorkshire

Birdsedge is a small rural village, coupled with the adjacent hamlet of High Flatts. The villages are set high on the edge of the Yorkshire Pennines, almost a thousand feet above sea level, in England's rugged north. There are 150 or so houses, about 350 people, a primary school, a village hall, a Wesleyan Reform Church, a Friends Meeting House, a mill (Hinchliffe's) which is a small part of a bigger complex in nearby Denby Dale, and some local businesses.

There's an active village hall offering varied events from quiz night socials to concerts and coffee mornings, but there are no shops in the village, and no pub. The nearest pub is the Sovereign, just half a mile away - though down a steep hill. Fine on the way there, but tough walking on the way back. There's a small Thai restaurant at High Flatts, and Yummy Yorkshire ice cream parlour and restaurant at Ingbirchworth. The nearest shop is the little Co-op supermarket at the Sovereign Garage, opposite the pub, on the crossroads of the A635, which runs from Denby Dale to Holmfirth, and the A629, which runs from Penistone to Huddersfield. There's a post office and general store at Upper Cumberworth, a little more than a mile away (and another pub, The Star).

Public transport? I think I saw a bus once. Actually there are buses if you want to go to Huddersfield, but they are limited. You can catch buses to Holmfirth and Leeds from the Sovereign crossroads, but it's downhill all the way there and correspondingly uphill all the way back. The Huddersfield/Sheffield rail line has small stations at Shepley, Denby Dale and Penistone, but there's no connecting bus from Birdsedge. If you're planning to live in Birdsedge, you really need a car or a chauffeur.

There are doctors' surgeries in Shepley (nearest), Denby Dale and Penistone, though no medical facilities in the village. There are dentists in Upper Denby, Penistone, and Shepley, though you'd need to enquire as to whether any of them currently take NHS patients.

Denby Dale is well supplied with local shops, a post office, a butcher, a bakery, a deli, a well-stocked small supermarket, a couple of hairdressers, a gift shop, an estate agent, a travel agent and a charity shop. There's a fish and chip shop, a chinese takeaway, a tea-room, a bisto, and Maxi's for Indian eat-in or take-away. (Maxi's also deliver.) And pubs - two at the last count - plus the Pie Hall (which has a bar) and a WMC. There's a converted mill complex (Springfield Mill) with a stationer, a cafe (Beanies), a charioty shop, and various small shops including hardware.

Birdsedge and High Flatts are on the southern edge of Kirklees local authority (Huddersfield). The nearest towns are Holmfirth, Huddersfield and Barnsley and the nearest cities are Wakefield, Leeds, Sheffield and (just over the Pennines) Manchester.

Birdsedge, Birds Edge? What's in a name?

People who have lived here a long time tend to spell the village name Birdsedge, Kirklees calls it Birds Edge. At one time, the village sign at the north end of the village said Birds Edge and coming in from the south side the only sign said 'Birdsedge 1 mile.' The 17th Century Adam Eyre's Diary called it Bursage. So you decide. Personally I call it Birdsedge.

Birdsedge Village Hall is owned by the village and administered by trustees and a committee. There's a regular quiz night on the last Friday of the month, and pilates classes (Contact Kim Payne 07930344747). The hall is available for hire for parties, concerts and private functions. Contact Roz for information and bookings.

email: roz_mears@yahoo.co.uk
phone: 07854023850

Village Hall Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069928899670

Upper Dearne Woodlands
Between Birdsedge and Denby Dale are the Upper Dearne Woodlands with the River Dearne rising in the fields above the village, gathering in the Mill Pond, where once there was a water wheel, and then running through the wood on its way to more industrial areas of South Yorkshire. With a number of easy-walking paths, the woods are particularly beautiful at bluebell time. Much conservation work has been undertaken by a woodland trust.

Weather and Climate
Yes, it snows. Birdsedge can be windy, too. It's almost 1000 ft above sea level and there's very little to shelter us from the winds that blow off the Pennines, and when wind and snow combine it can drift across the main A629 at High Flatts and by the Penistone roundabout. We're generally above the 900ft snow-line, so it can be green in Denby Dale when Birdsedge is white with snow. Residents will tell you that Birdsedge is three coats colder than Denby Dale. Let's just call it 'fresh.' Of course, in summer that can be an advantage when parts of the country are mired in muggy heat

The Village School
A Quaker sunday school at High Flatts led to a village school - Birdsedge Day School in 1870 - supported by the Firth and Wood families, prominent Quakers of Birdsedge and High Flatts, They built a school room on to the end of Ten Row on the main road. That building is now the Village Hall. The 'new' council school was opened in 1911 (see pic above) and has since been expanded. Birdsedge First School has an excellent reputation and now caters for children from early years to the age of ten. There's a middle school in Scissett and the local high school in Shelley, with a dedicated school bus service to both.

Birdsedge Wesleyan Reform Church
Birdsedge Lane, HD8 8XR
Contact: 07973 426939

High Flatts Quaker Meeting
Phone 01484 607 716

Sunday at 10:45am

We are a small meeting with 8 Friends on average attending on a Sunday. Experiment with Light meetings are first Tuesday at 10.00am and third Sunday at 2.00pm - please contact the Meeting for details.